BASEBALL: Belton, Miles lead SHSU past Princeton in elimination game

Published 8:21 pm, Saturday, June 4, 2016

The Sam Houston State baseball team kept its season alive on Saturday night, earning a 7-2 victory over Princeton in an elimination game at the Lafayette Regional in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bearkats (42-21) scored four runs in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back on their way to the win.

Sam Houston was led by Conroe High School graduate Greg Belton, who picked up the win on the mound after allowing just two hits in 4 2/3 innings of relief work. The senior right-hander finished with six strikeouts and did not issue a walk as he improved to 6-1 this season.

“My job is to come in and finish games,” Belton said in a press release. “I just wanted to get us a win and get us to the next day.”

While Belton was taking care of business on the mound, The Woodlands High School graduate Lance Miles was leading the charge for the Bearkats at the plate. The redshirt junior second baseman went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Bryce Johnson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Robie Rojas went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Oak Ridge High School graduate Riley McKnight also contributed for Sam Houston, collecting a pinch-hit bunt single.

Starting pitcher Riley Gossett went 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and two earned runs. He finished with two strikeouts and one walk.

The Bearkats will face the loser between Louisiana-Lafayette and Arizona at 7 p.m. Sunday.